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RPlog:Death of a Planet
The space above Cochran was a Griffon graveyard. The Imperial fleet under Grand Admiral Kreldin had more or less decimated the Griffons, and were currently engaged in the final actions against the Republic relief fleet under Admiral Rodriga. Despite all the chaos, the Republic senator for the sector and other top government aides and officials managed to escape, thanks to the sacrifice of the GSS Gabriel. So, the Imperials failed to capture a priority target - or kill him - but, nevertheless, the plan went on as continued. Until the Imperial Intelligence failure came clear. Cochran had no planetary shield, thus negating the purpose of the Imperial ground troops currently engaged - or rather, previous engaged - on Cochran itself. So Kreldin issued the withdrawal of the Imperial troops from the planet, and ordered a portion of the fleet to continue battling against the retreating Republic forces, while the other portion either went to provide cover for the Imperial ground troops in their withdrawal or prepared to move into position around Cochran. Danik is still stuck to his medical bed on the bridge of the Malevolence, the Imperial commandship and dreadnought, his broken back preventing him from leading the battle standing. Nevertheless, the grand admiral refused to take a medical leave of absence, and executed the battle plan he had worked so long for. It nearly all came crashing down on him when Johanna, the Dark Jedi, kidnapped and forced the knowledge of the Cochran invasion from him, with her Jedi tricks. But for whatever reason, the lady Jedi did not go rushing to the Republic to alert them to Kreldin's evil plan, and so the battle went ahead as planned. Now, the battle was at its climax. The Malevolence was at the forefront of the battle against the retreating Republic ships, thousands of her turbolaser batteries extinguishing turbolaser bolts and ion cannon blasts at the enemy fleet. For whatever reason the New Republic starfighters - or capital ships - had not yet ran any attack runs on the Imperial interdictors, which were producing the gravity wells so keeping them stuck at Cochran. All the better for Kreldin and the Imperials. Eventually they would make it clear of the artificial gravity wells.. eventually. From CS-4073 over frequency 5000.00: "Kreldin\, this is Rodriga. I'd like to offer you a deal." From CS-6660 over frequency 5000.00: "A junior officer down in the crew pit of the Executor-class Star Dreadnought quickly works to patch the communication to Kreldin's own. "Admiral Rodriga... this is Grand Admiral Kreldin speaking. A deal\, huh? What kind of.. deal?"" The New Republic 2nd Fleet was now making its last stand in the system. The Fleets strength varied from battle group to battle group. While some were benifiting from high moral for successfull engagements, others were on the other hand licking their wounds. Amongst the fleet was the NRSD Reprisal. The Flag ship had only suffered minor damages during the battle. However, its Command Staff had made the call for withdraw from the system. Would the fleet make it out of the system with out suffering more casualties or would the NR 2nd Fleet be wiped out? Only time will tell..... From CS-4073 over frequency 5000.00: "I doubt you are unaware of your own capacity for empathy. You yourself have been in some fairly stacked situations in the past. As such\, I propose that for your end\, you deactivate one of your gravity wells." From CS-6660 over frequency 5000.00: "We're parleying here\, Admiral Rodriga. You have to bring something to the table - you want me to deactivate one of my gravity wells. But I have to have something.. in return.. something that would make it worthwhile. You must understand how delicate of a situation it is... I have the Republic fleet in my grips\, and should I allow you to escape by deactivating a gravity well.. well\, you know\, some of the people in the government\, especially COMPNOR\, may be.. suspicious." At The small cockpit of the A-wing StarFighter, the Falcon 6, young Republic pilot goes by the Name Seth Skyler is sitting. He checks his black piloting gloves again and his uniform as well as his Life Support system before he leaves the NRSD Reprisal. Back Engines of the A-wing fighter hums as it takes off from the New Republic Capital ship. He flies the A-wing swiftly and calmly, "This is Falcon Six, Leave some enemies for me." he says, "We will make them pay for the Crusader!" From CS-4073 over frequency 5000.00: "Naturally\, Admiral\, you understand the position I am in. I would expect to offer something of particular import to you\, such as your Senator\, who has been standing by my side the past ten minutes begging to sacrifice himself. He's a noble man. However\, I feel quite certain that you would not uphold your end of the bargain\, so... in exchange for your disabling a gravity well and allowing the Republic fleet to depart\, we will agree to a ceasefire. No more Imperial lives will be lost\, so long as we are allowed to leave in one piece." SF-6475 Hase a new cadet but on his third mission, has seen quite a bit of action but the last command does not go well with him. " Ghost 3 here, please confirm the retreat order." he still maintains his flight towards the reprisal and waiting for orders to change. Dillan checks several indicators before settling himself uncomfortably within the tightly spaced A-wing cockpit. "Falcon two, callsign Pickles to Reprisal, launching..." the last word left hanging for a moment before the pilot quickly initiates the repulsorlifts, lifting the small fighter two feet above the tarmac, the throttle pushed forward. The nimble fighter shoots forth from the large cruiser's hangar bay, magnetic shields flickering as it passes. The nimble fighter immediatly pushes to maximum thruster output, red ionic exhaust reaching into the dark vacuum of space. "This is pickles, acknowledging orders and engaging, over." Just as its said, the fighter rolls ninety degrees to starboard, pilot pulling back on the yoke to send it into a hard turn towards the enemy. From CS-6660 over frequency 5000.00: "I will lower the gravity well if you call off your ground troops from assaulting my troops on Cochran\, and allow them to leave the planet without incident." From CS-4073 over frequency 5000.00: "It's been established\, Admiral Kreldin\, why your fleet is here. Our troops have already been ordered to evacuate\, and get all the civilians they can on the way out. If our forces are allowed to pass\, we will do so peacefully." From CS-6660 over frequency 5000.00: "Very well. The Imperial dropships are preparing to exit the planet right now. You hold your fire\, we'll hold ours. Gravity well turning down now." From CS-4073 over frequency 5000.00: "We have ordered all forces to cease hostilities and head home. We'll be gone in ten\, fifteen minutes. I do hope you realize what's important here\, Admiral." Again, the glow over Cochran is seen again, As War Shrike squadron exits the atmosphere, returning to space. The group of TIEs form up and head back in for battle above Cochran. Wolf's TIE shudders as he brings his TIE back into control. After Johmac's ion attack, he had lost some of his controls, but now he was ready for battle once again. Things were crazy. The Daggers began to emerge from the upper atmosphere, escaping the insanity on the ground. Captain Johmac Mabru, typically at the head of the Ghosts, was at the head of the Daggers tonight, in Dagger One. "Daggers, check up," he orders, and listens to the role call of eleven other fighters. "Take up flanking positions and stand by." There was something odd going on - it looked like the fleets had stopped shooting a eachother. Then there was a transmission from the Reprisal ... "Dagger One, this is Reprisal Command. We are currently negotiating a safe retreat of the Second Fleet. Assign fighters to protect Marine shuttles tas they leave the planet. Over." Furrowing his eyebrows slightly, Johmac clears his throat. "This is Dagger Leader, I copy Command, moving to station." He taps on the console, changing communications channels. "Ghost Squadron, come in, this is Dagger Leader. Vape, I need you to send a few of your guys to cover the Marine shuttles leaving the atmo. We'll cover you. Do you copy?" At this point, a few of the Y-Wings, including Mabru's, was breaking off from the main fighter-bomber group... they were gonna moave to the marine ships pronto, because they were beginning to come on up.. Second Officer Malantean answers over the com channel. "Ghost 5, I copy Dagger Leader." Staying back awhile, just to make sure everyone is off the planet that needs to be. The droid in his droid well going crazy, almost as bad as his old one did, "We'll be out of here soon enough, we can't leave yet until the shuttles are off and out of the way." he explains to the droid. He takes a few of the Ghosts with him, and awaits the shuttles. Making sure nothing happens to them. During the battle, a communication was patched into the Imperial flagship directed for Kreldin. Rodriga wanted to parley, and Kreldin was willing to talk. A cease fire was settled upon, allowing the Imperial troops on Cochran to safely pull off the planet, and in return the Empire began lowering their gravity wells on the Interdictor cruisers. The Imperial fleet was issued a series of orders, and as the guns stopped firing, the Imperial warships redeployed to positions around Cochran, their weapons systems still activated. The Imperial dropships were still on the way, and the Imperial capital ships were ordered to await their safe return before initiating the final phase of the Empire's retribution. Kreldin closes the communication with Rodriga. He agreed to the cease-fire to allow the Imperial troops to safely get off the planet.. but he wasn't going to be stopped with fulfilling the final part of his plan. Cochran was going to burn, and the blood was going to be on his hands. @emit The Bridge staff of the NRSD Reprisal was working furiously with their assigned tasks. Radio Operators beamed out radio transmissions non-stop to various departments within the ship as well as to the Fighters, Capital Class Ships, and Ground Force on the planet. Engeneers dedecated all the time they could to putting as much energy into the ships shields and engines. The speed would be required when the Reprisal would have to make its escape. Reguardless of the crews position, they all worked diligently into their positions knowing that the entire 2nd Fleet relied on its flagship to run a successful battle. he NRSD Reprisal had now slowed down in its efforts to withdraw from the system, there were suddenly new tasks and orders that had come down from a higher source. The ship turbo batteriers had ceased firing. The ship continued to stay on higher alert with several A-Wing fighters performing tight security on the ship should things go astray. At the Bridge, Stone continues to plan with his staff on how to evacuate the troops from the planet in a timely mannor that would ensure that every one of them escaped safely. However time was an issue, he did not want to keep the fleet here any longer then needed, should the Grand Admiral have a change in heart. Captain Stone, steps away from his planning cell for a moment to look out from the bridge to see the large fleets begin to reassemble into tight formations. As the Captain clasps his hands behind his back to observe, he turns to his radio operator relying instructions to be sent to his troops. In the cockpit of Ghost 7, Kyrin would lash her tail about if she had the space to do so, but it's strapped in the same as her. When the order comes down to protect the transport, she heels the stick over and forms up with the rest of the Ghosts now on marine-sitting duty, noting to her wingman that she is indeed on said wing. She keeps her trap shut as she flies escort with her squadron-mates, her grey eyes shifting from cockpit windows to instruments and back in a well-rehearsed pattern.. At A-Wing Falcon 6, Rookiee pilot of the Republic raises an eyebrow, "Command this is Falcon 6. I copy." he says and gets into defensive formation with the NRSD Reprisal. He hrms, his shields and weapons are fully charged and ready for battle... "Dagger Squadron copies. Ghost Squadron copies." Johmac, inside of Dagger One, forms up along with a column of other fighters, on one side of the Marine transports. "I don't like this, ladies and gentlemen. Keep your eyes peeled, and watch yourselves." Dagger One speeds along as speedily as a Y-Wing can, and Johmac keeps his head on a swivel. Needless to say, the gunner in the back, a simple ol' flight officer, keeps his entire body on a swivel, turning the top-mounted ion cannons this way and that, threateningly. Ghost 5 keeps a tight formation as well with the Ghosts surrounding some of the other transports. "They aren't supposed to attack, but you never know. Keep your eyes peeled for enemy fighters. Until this ship is safely in hyperspace and out of here. Ghost 7 must not trust the relative quiet right now. Something stinks, in her mind, but she has no evidence to refer to, so she says nothing about her suspicions. "Roger that, Ghost 5," Kyrin says instead. "My scopes are clear... for now." Hase on Ghost 3 follows orders to the letter, he keeps the formation as he was told and keeps himself alert and ready to go back into battle if needed. He does not trust the imps and he will never trust them. "Grand Admiral Kreldin, all surviving Imperial units on the ground have hooked up with the fleet. Rebel units and civilians are also evacuating," comes the voice of a junior officer in the crew pit. So the rebels already knew the Imperial plan. Civilians were fleeing, but now that the Imperial troops were off the planet and more or less safely aboard the confines of the Imperial warship, Kreldin decided it was time to begin the final phase of the operation. And he wasn't going to wait for the rebels, cease fire or not. With the Imperial fleet now in position, it was time. "To all Imperial units, this is Grand Admiral Danik Kreldin. Execute Base Delta Zero. Repeat, execute Base Delta Zero." And so it began. Thousands of turbolasers and concussion missile launchers began unleashing upon Cochran and the fleeing civilian and military units, with certain units attempting to shoot down as many fleeing ships as possible while others concentrated solely upon bombarding the surface of the planet. The Imperials made no effort to distinguish between civilian or military targets; they were all targets, women, children and men. The scene on the bridge of the Malevolence is a solemn one. Not a single crewman said a word as the Base Delta Zero began; they all knew what they were doing, what was going to happen. They were only human, after all. But orders were orders. Kreldin asks one of his medical aides to push his bed closer to the view port, so he could watch Cochran's destruction with his own eyes. "Command, this is Dagger leader... Something's happening.. Those're turbolase -- GHOSTS, DAGGERS! SCATTER, SCATTER! BREAK, BREAK, BREAK!" A transport explodes just beside Dagger One, and without shields, Mabru's ship is hit hard - Debris scatter all over the Y-Wing, causing a fair enough amount of damage as the pilot rolls away. There's a scream in the back of the cockpit - and the sound of decompression as the front half of the canopy is sealed off from the back half. His gunner was dead and he knew it.. He wasn't gonna look back.. "All Squadrons, Bug Out to Delta Zulu Niner!" He was trying to steer through the turbolaser fire... Oh lord, there was a lot of it, too. "-ALL- squadrons, bug out to Delta Zulu Niner!" Delta Zulu Niner was the code for Mon Cal, the Second Fleet's home port.. just like the good Admiral ordered. Trying to harvest what was left of his ship, the Captain continued to push through, taking random, small hits here and there. Was he even gonna make this out alive? As usual Ghost 5 takes a bit of a beating from the blasts as well, trying his best to manuvre out of there. Gee, this might be as hairy as it was planet side as he was getting shot at by the Destroyer and TIE's. Veering one way and then another. Almost too near the ship the Daggers were guarding. He speeds up, "Ghosts, as many of you as possible, to the Reprisal fast as you can get there." As an Officer, he makes sure the others are safe, before he actually lands. From Ghost 7, there's a choice Chyleni curse muttered, then a prayer or five as the space around Kyrin's X-Wing lights up like a bonfire, and she's the invitee. It's almost impossible to get out unscathed, and even with shields, the X-Wing's not really built to take this sort of barrage. However, she does her best to judge the pattern of shots and take advantage of any holes in the barrage, juking her way out of getting fried quite yet. Momma didn't hatch no stupid chicks. It's almost an aerial ballet for the Chyleni woman, despite its deadly nature, finding the gaps that will save her life. If she takes a few hits that may have ended up on Johmac's ship, well, she's got the shields to take a few for him. "As ordered, Five," she says tersely, acknowledging the order As quick as the orders where issued he turns and heads towards the reprisal, he is not impressed and frankly pissedd off. Never trust the imps, they are backstabbers . He flies towards the Reprisal as he looks to the others as they also land thirs ghosts. "I WON'T DIE HERE! AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Johmac wasn't going to go down without a fight. Dagger One's damaged engines flare anew, as he pushes past the enemy capital ships, smoking and sparking all over.. a dead gunner in the back, and a destroyed R2 unit in the droid well. He makes his own jump out.. Standing calmly, coldly, at the helm of the Malignant, Captain Caiton watches as the ships that can leave begin to swarm away from the planet. Beyond the quiet voiced commands being issued from one person to the next, and the sound of machinery and sensors and the beeping of this system or that, the bridge is eerily quiet. Captain Caiton clasps her hands behind her back, standing with her feet braced slightly apart, positioning herself before the main view screen as she awaits the signal for the final orders. When it comes, she executes the order with precision, without hesitation. Turning to the XO of the Malignant she relays the order, "Begin orbital bombardment," she says calmly, three simple words that signal the end of life on the target planet. Striding over to a planetary tectonic display of the target planet, she keys in a few commands before specific areas of the planet are highlighted for the weapons officers. "Here and here," she says, indicating the fault lines, "are key fault lines for the continental masses. Begin bombardment along these coordinates, one after another." It goes without explanation that this method will cause massive earthquakes which will lead to volcanic eruptions and other large planetary destabilization in an efficient manner. "Concentrate your fire here, to begin with," she orders after scrutinizing the display once more. Ignoring the smaller ships fleeing the sector, the VSD Malignant alters trajectory slightly, angling for a better vector for its main weapons array. A faint ripple of concussive trembling can barely be felt as the ships weapons begin firing. From the main display screen the tracking of the weapons is automatic, the second volley being launched even before the first volley is half the distance to the planet, followed immediately by a third round even as new targets are being acquired. Keying up the intracom, Captain Caiton addresses the crew. "All personnel who are not currently needed at their battle stations have official leave to make their way to any of the viewing screens that face the planet Cochran." She pauses, gathering her thoughts into precise order. "On this day we, again, reaffirm that the Empire stands for order and law, unity and peace. We will bring peace to the universe one planet, one sector, one city at a time, as need be. We will wring the seeds of treason and traitorous dissent from the dissidents and bring them to justice. Cast them from this life of flesh and blood and bone and send them to kneel in the face of justice, the justice they were never able to accept in this life. May they find it in the next. With the death of the planet, so dies the traitors who infected it's rich verdant soil with their chaos and lawless ways." Base Delta Zero. The grim Imperial code name for the Imperial command for "the systematic complete destruction of all 'assets' of production, including factories, arable land, mines, fisheries, and all sentient beings and droids," as described by Imperial officials. One Star Destroyer could achieve the task in less than one day. An entire fleet as Grand Admiral Kreldin had deployed could perform the operation in less than one hour. The atmosphere would be lost. The topsoil layers would be vaporized, and the remaining surface would be left to a cratered slag, and the planet would appear like it was a newly formed planet: a molten world. The sea would boil, all life would be extinguished. This grim code had only been issued twice before; upon the planet Caamas, years after the Clone Wars, and the planet Dankayo, an old rebel base in the early years of the Galactic Civil War. Kreldin had not been witness to either events, and witnessing it be performed right now was not as easy as he thought it was going to be. Naturally he had reservations about the whole ordeal; it was not easy to watch, much less authorize. But as Kreldin watches the turbolasers pour upon Cochran and the fleeing civilian and military ships, he held back his reservations and basked himself in the glory of total victory and the final annihilation of the Griffons Alliance. The Empire's long awaited revenge had finally been fulfilled. Kreldin allows a smile to form on his face. SF-4239 A lone battered Mantaray fighter takes off from the planet, more precisely Old City, and boosts at full speed out from the planet's atmosphere. The impacts on the hull could be clearly identified as not being a result of space combat, rather physical damage taken from debris, none other than a mix of rocks, metals, and other materials that were destroyed under the Imperial ongoing operation against the planet. Gyzen can only witness the destruction of a years work in a few hours, powerless... Gravwell warnings shows up on his HUD as a result of the couple Interdictors blockading the planet... He had a civilian passenger onboard and it wasn't really appropriate to tangle with enemy fighters ! Ignoring incoming fire, shields fully up and unscathed from the previous dogfights the Mantaray quickly rolls and heads in the general direction of the retreating NR fleet at full speed, to compute a safe jump out from the system. The Bridge Staff of the NRSD Reprisal begins to work the difficult task of landing several fighters and transport shuttles at once. Many of the Fighters that were capeable jumped themselves making the task eaiser, but never the less the the landing crews worked the difficult task of making each ship landing safely. There was bound to be accedents, but this was the price of war... As minutes tick by ship after ship continues to make the jump to hyperspace. THe NRSD Reprisal continues to linger outside the weapon ranges of the Imperial Battle Fleet: Task Force Hammer as it awaits for the remainder of its ships to dock. "Strike up the band," Danik says, to one of his many aides. The order is relayed out, and over the communication systems the Imperial March begins to play, and then onto frequency 5000, the same one Moralis used to communicate with Kreldin, so as to allow the rebels to pick up the Imperial March as it plays. With the March playing, and Cochran's destruction undergoing, Kreldin closes his eyes and lets out a sigh of relief. The battle was over, and it was time for him to get some much needed sleep and repair. Johanna's attack took a lot out of him. With the green bolts of turbolaser fire raining upon Cochran, the Imperial March continues to play over the radio waves, filling every Imperial with pride. The orbital bombardment is methodical. By the book, methodical in fact, that the senior weapons officer uses this exercise as training time for junior officers. He stands slightly behind and to the side of the gunners positions, running them through the various deployment options for the weapons and questioning them on the dispersal patterns of the weapons available. The senior officers begin to follow suit, taking up one training position after another, using this as time-in-training as well as a live-fire exercise combined with a lethal display of ferocity from the VSD Malignant as the ship continues to fire one volley after another. Captain Caiton stands calmly as the eye of the storm, so to speak, giving the senior officers room to teach and train. Taking the responsibility of the destruction of Cochran on her shoulders, on her orders, directing one stage at a time, and keeping a running time indicator to measure the exact amount of time elapsed until the planets last eruption of planetary gasses and molten lava that will signal the end of the day. In the midsts of the never ceasing rounds of fire, the majestic sound of the Imperial March pours through the ship, every channel every com system playing the sound of victory.